A five-wicket haul by Saad Khalid, the Pakistan-born right-arm fast bowler, helped Kuwait beat Bahrain by four wickets in the first match of the 2014 Asian Cricket Council Elite League at the Padang in Singapore on Saturday (June 7). 

Khalid returned figures of 5 for 26, and was well supported by Faizan Ali, who picked up two wickets, as Bahrain, put in to bat, was bowled out for 147 in 39.4 overs.

In its chase, captain Hisham Mirza made 47 to help Kuwait reach the target in 31.2 overs, registering the victory with 112 balls to spare.

Along the way, Mirza had important partnerships with Abid Mushtaq (27) and Mohammed Ghulam (12) for the second and third wicket respectively.

After Mirza fell to Adil Hanif in the 24th over, Mohammad Amin and Khalid added 40 runs for the sixth wicket to keep things under control.

That Bahrain reached 147 was because of Adnan Butt, who made 35 opening the innings, and Hanif’s 25.

Saudi Arabia bowlers restrict Singapore

At the Indian Association Ground, Singapore, the home team, failed to open its account as Saudi Arabia prevailed by three wickets.

Chasing 150 in a 46-over game, Saudi Arabia reached the target in 40.5 overs with Shahbaz Rasheed top scoring with 66.

Singapore, put in to bat, started steadily with Andre de Lange and Chaminda Ruwan adding 66 runs for the second wicket in 92 balls. 

That, however, was the only highlight in the innings. The duo was dismissed in a space of four overs, and the innings lost direction after that. 

Mohammad Nadeem’s three wickets and two scalps each by Faheem Afrad and Afzal Saleem meant that Singapore was bowled out for 149 in 42.4 overs.

Saudi Arabia lost three early wickets in its chase before Rasheed and Afzal Saleem put on 102 runs for the fourth wicket to keep the team ahead in the game.

Abhiraj Singh bowled Rasheed in the 34th over, and it triggered a mini collapse. Mulewa Dharmichand, a former Karnataka cricketer, picked up two quick wickets and Saleem (41) became Amjad Mahboob’s third wicket.

The effort came a bit late in the day as Saudi Arabia reached its target with 31 balls to spare.

Disciplined show from Maldives

In a rain-affected game at Kallang Ground, the Maldives bowlers put up a disciplined show to beat Bhutan by three wickets.

After Bhutan opted to bat, Maldives started impressively and remained on the top of the Bhutanese batsmen throughout the innings.

Bhutan was bowled out for 109 in 47 overs as Mihusan Hamid registered figures of 3 for 15. Ahmed Jamal and Mohamed Mahfooz picked up two wickets each.

Maldives had reached 36 for 1 in 5.1 overs when rain stopped play. The target was reduced to 101 in 39 overs, which was crossed in 27 overs.

Opener Ahmed Hassan, who made 36, was the architect of the chase.

Tenzin Wangchuk accounted for Hassan and Mahfooz in the 26th over, but Jamaal broke the 23-ball boundary drought and then took a single and accumulated two points in the last ball of the 27th over.